The Ministry of Education also stimulates and encourages other evaluation activities (see the section Other evaluation activities), both national and international; while others are commercially based.

The basic data for evaluation of the education system – statistical data on school performance, on employees in the field of education, and economic data – is provided by the Ministry of Education (for more information see General Administration at Central Level).

Internal evaluation of schools/institutions

School heads are responsible for the internal evaluation of schools. The self-evaluation is currently not enshrined in legislation.

The self-evaluation of schools is in case of basic schools (základní školy), upper secondary schools (střední školy) and tertiary professional schools (vyšší odborné školy) the groundwork for preparing the annual report on the school activities (approved by the School Council – školská rada). The school self-evaluation provides background for external evaluation by the Czech School Inspectorate.

The schools prepare the school's development conceptual plans in cooperation with the School Council.

External evaluation of schools/institutions

Evaluation of schools and school facilities is systematically carried out by the Czech School Inspectorate. Irrespective of the organising body, all schools included in the Register of Schools and School facilities are evaluated by the Inspectorate.

The Inspectorate prepares conceptual plans of the evaluation activities (currently for the period of 2014 to 2020) and procedures for the evaluation of education system. The evaluation activities are carried out on the basis of the plan of main objectives set for the school year and according to the Criteria for Evaluation of the Conditions, Course and Results of Education and School Services. Both documents are approved by the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports.

The Czech School Inspectorate was established by a law passed in 1991 and is an administrative authority with a national responsibility. At present, the Inspectorate is operating according to the Education Act, 2004. It is an organisational unit of the state and a budgetary unit. It meets objectives stipulated especially by section 174 of the Education Act. The Czech School Inspectorate is composed of its headquarters in Prague 5 and 14 Regional School Inspectorates, which have their seats in regional cities (in Prague 6, there are the seats of two regional inspectorates, Prague (Pražský) and Central Bohemia (Středočeský), at the same address). It is headed by the Chief School Inspector appointed by the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, and other inspectors are appointed by the Chief School Inspector. The activities of individual inspectors are not limited by the territory in which their inspectorate is located; in making up inspection teams inspectors can be included in a team anywhere in the Czech Republic according to their qualification or competence for a given type of school. For information on the inspectorate staff see Staff Involved in Monitoring Educational Quality for Early Childhood and School Education.

During the inspection activities the Inspectorate:

collects and analyses information on the education of children, pupils and students, on the activities of schools and school facilities registered in the School Register, evaluates the effectiveness of the educational system

checks and assesses the conditions, process and outcomes of education according to respective school education programmes and valid curricular documents

checks and assesses the content of the school education programme and its compliance with legislation and the framework education programme

checks adherence to legislation, related to providing education and school services

The founders (organising bodies) of the schools and school facilities can also carry out their evaluation according to the criteria published in advance. However, such evaluation is rare, usually performed only by regions, and covers only economic aspects.

Approaches and Methods for Quality Assurance

The Annual report of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports prepares and submits to the Government the Annual Report on State and the Development of the Education. This is an obligation imposed on the Ministry of Education by the Education Act. The Ministry of Education has published the annual report since 1997; however separately for the lower educational levels – from nursery schools to tertiary professional schools – and higher education institutions (Annual Report on State of Higher Education). Since 2012 there has been a joint report for all educational levels; nevertheless, separate parts are devoted to the lower and to higher educational levels, the third part encompasses statistics.

The Annual Report on State and the Development of the Education is based on statistical and economic data, the annual report of the Czech School Inspectorate, regional annual reports and other information resources.

Annual reports of regions

Regional authorities provide an evaluation of the education system in their region in an annual report on the state and development of education system in the region. This is submitted to the Regional Assembly and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and published in a way that enables remote access.

The structure and content of annual report of a region are set down by regulation. It consists of:

an evaluation of the situation on individual levels of the education system regardless of the school founder

an economic section

evaluation of the fulfilment of the long-term plan in region, its goals and measures in the past period including its compliance with the long-term plan of the Czech Republic

The annual report in a region depicts the current situation and evaluates changes as compared to the state in the preceding annual report in the following areas:

pre-school education

basic education

upper secondary education

tertiary professional education

education of children, pupils and students with special educational needs and gifted children, pupils and students

the prevention of risk behaviour (socio-pathologic features), environmental and multicultural education, education of foreigners and the members of national minorities, and education for sustainable development

participation of schools in the development and international programmes

The Annual report of the Czech School Inspectorate

Annual Reports of the Czech School Inspectorate contain summarised findings on the current situation of education and the educational system resulting from the inspections carried out in the past school year. The Chief School Inspector submits it to the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports by 30 December and it is published annually in December. The reports are divided in two parts: the evaluation part and the factual part, comprising graphs, summaries and tables.

Internal evaluation of schools and school facilities

Internal evaluation is the responsibility of the school head; the law does not set the criteria, form nor the terms of the evaluation.

Schools may use the external evaluation criteria for their internal evaluation but this is not obligatory. Various tools to help schools with internal evaluation are available on the website, run by the National Institute for Education. The tools include: observation sheets, questionnaires, manuals and instructions, forums etc.

In the framework of the internal (self) school assessment, also the quality of the human resources is evaluated; the self-assessment of the educational staff can be used for this.

In-service teacher training courses are provided by the National Institute for Further Education. These include internal evaluation and have different target groups (school heads, deputy heads and teachers).

Annual report on the school activity

Internal (self) evaluation is the groundwork for drawing up the annual report on the school activity for the past school year. The obligation to prepare annual report is imposed on the heads of basic schools (základní školy), upper secondary schools (střední školy) and tertiary professional schools (vyšší odborné školy) by the law. The school head submits it to the school board (školská rada) for approval before 15 October. After its approval by the school board, the school head sends the annual report to the school organising body within 14 days and it must be made available in an accessible place at the school.

The annual report on the activity of school always contains:

basic information about the school, i.e. its name, location, school description, responsible body, information on the school management, address for remote access, information on the school board

overview of the educational fields which are taught at school in line with the registration in the School Register

framework description of the school staff that guarantee the functioning of the school

information on enrolment procedures or registration for compulsory school attendance and subsequent admission to school

information on educational attainment of pupils pursuant to the goals specified by the educational programmes and level of education provided, including the results of final examination (závěrečná zkouška), school-leaving examination (maturitní zkouška) and graduate examination (absolutorium)

information on the prevention of risk behaviour

information on further education of teaching staff

information on activities and presentation of school in the public

information on results of any inspection carried out by the Czech School Inspectorate

basic information on the school finances

information on the school's participation in the development and international programmes

information on the school's participation in further education in the framework of the lifelong education

information on the submitted projects, financed from external sources, carried out by the school

information on the cooperation with the trade unions, the employers' associations and other partners while fulfilling the educational objectives

External evaluation of schools and school facilities

The Czech School Inspectorate carries out inspection activities on the basis of a Plan of Principle Assignments stipulated for a school year, which is being submitted for approval to the Minister of Education, Youth and Schools until 15 July for the subsequent year and made available on the website. In addition, inspection activities are carried out in response to initiatives, complaints and petitions which come under the Inspectorate's sphere of responsibility. In the case of an inspection carried out following a complaint, the Inspectorate investigates individual claims stated in any complaint that lies within its competence. The results of investigation are handed over to the school's responsible body for further action. This body informs the Inspectorate on how the complaint is dealt with and on possible measures to resolve it. It is specified in an internal regulation that Inspectorate informs on the inspection results both the grievant.

While assessing the conditions, process and outcomes of education and educational services, the Inspectorate bases its work on principles and objectives stipulated by the Education Act and other legislation valid for the education sphere. The fundamental criteria of assessment are how effective is the support of the personal development of children, pupils and students, and the achievement of educational goals on the part of schools and school facilities.

Criteria of Assessment, Course and Results of Education

The assessment follows the Criteria of Assessment, Course and Results of Education (further on only Criteria). The Inspectorate submits (until the 15 July) the Criteria for the following school year to the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports that is the responsible body to approve them. The Inspectorate makes the Criteria available on its website.

Inspection process

The inspection process has three essential phases:

preparatory phase (preliminary inspection activity)

direct inspection activity in schools (on the spot)

reporting

Currently, the inspection cycle of visits to schools changed from three years to six years in agreement with the newly set six-year term of appointment of the school heads. If shortcomings are identified during the inspection, another inspection is carried out after a shorter interval (according to the seriousness of the breach and the time appointed for the rectification), to assess whether these shortcomings have been rectified.

The Chief School Inspector decides upon the inspection activities (their quantity) that the employees of individual inspectorates have to accomplish in a given school year. The Director of the Inspectorate (under exceptional conditions the Chief School Inspector, possibly the Deputy for the inspection activities) decides upon the date, form and personnel provision of the inspection activity in schools.

1. Preparatory phase (preliminary inspection activity)

Preliminary inspection activity is carried out outside of school (or school facility). The team determines, analyses and evaluates particular school activities using secondary data sources – public resources (School Register), the previous inspection report, and a range of other documents (i.e. school websites, newspaper articles, complaints relating to the school, results of the testing of pupils). Preliminary inspection activity is a part of the preparatory phase for the following assessment or a control. The methods mainly used for the assessment are: comparative textual analysis, qualitative and quantitative inspection analysis of documents and inspection calculations.

The team leader also requests the school education programmes and the annual reports for last 3 years from the school head. Consequently, the compliance of submitted educational programmes with the framework educational programme for the relevant education is assessed. The team leader asks the school head to prepare the compulsory school’s documentation for the first day of the inspection at the school. The team leader may obtain further information on the school from the relevant body of the state administration, organising body and the school board (školská rada).

In general the team leader advises the head of a school of the precise term of inspection activity, together with requirements for the inspectors' activity. In case of an ex parte inspection or inspection based on a complaint, the school head can be informed on the day the inspection starts at the school.

2. Direct inspection activity in schools (on the spot)

The average duration of the direct inspection activity in schools or school facilities (on the spot) is 2-3 days. At the beginning the team leader informs the head of the school of the subject of the inspection which is stated in the written authorisation for the inspection.

During this activity the inspection team gathers primary data on school, verifies the secondary data acquired by preliminary assessment and on representative sample confirms data provided by the school in School Register, statistical register and data in the registry of pupils and students. This inspection is based on data from the self-evaluation of the school and measures taken by the school to these findings.

Methods used are based on the subject of the inspection. As a rule, the inspection includes:

study of compulsory school's documentation (e.g. the registry of pupils and students, the School Code, continuous professional development plan)

class observations

directed interviews with the school head regarding the conditions, processes and results of education, possibly also directed group and individual interviews with other school staff

interviews with pupils and possibly parents

an inspection of the premises

study of pupils' work

The school head, his/her deputy, chairperson of a subject commission, etc. can be asked to participate in observations. It is not the schools inspectors’ task to assess teachers' performance in teaching, as the quality of education is the responsibility of the school head. Directed interviews with teachers are also part of the inspection and these take place mainly after observed lessons. The interviews are focused on the teachers’ conditions for their work at the school. School inspectors evaluate the educational process at school on the basis of their findings and ensuring instruction by the school head in terms of the staff and material conditions. During their work at school they can participate in meetings of the educational council, subject commissions, and School Council, etc. If necessary, they can also carry out questionnaire surveys or submit an inquiry to pupils and/or their parents.

The school head or a school employee charged by them, and an accredited deputy of the responsible body are entitled to be present during any inspection activities in school. In the final stage of the direct inspection, the inspection team presents the preliminary findings and assessment of the school’s work to its head; the school head can express his his/her view.

3. Reporting

Under the Education Act the outcomes of an inspection are:

the inspection report on the identification and assessment of conditions, the process and outcomes of education by the school education programmes, and the identification and assessment of the content of the school education programme and its compliance with legislation and the framework education programme

a record according to a special regulation of state control and public administrative control of the use of funds

a thematic report analysing information on the education of children, pupils and students, on the activities of schools and school facilities, while evaluating the effectiveness of the education system

The inspection report is a public document. It contains the subject of the inspection activity, an assessment of the school’s work in the areas investigated according to the subject of the inspection activity, first names, surnames and signatures of school inspectors, controllers and other engaged persons, and the listing of the documents which the inspection report is based on. The school inspector, possibly a controller, discusses the content of the inspection report with the head of school (or school facility), who signs to confirm that the report has been discussed and accepted. The school head can submit comments on the inspection report to the Inspectorate within 14 days after its acceptance. The comments then become part of the report. The inspection reports are publicly accessible for the period of 10 years. They are available at the school, on the Internet, at the school governing body, and relevant regional Inspectorate.

The record comprises inspection results, i.e. a statement of inspection results under the legislation, which were checked by this control, and their justification. It must always include the subject of the inspection, a list of background documents or materials documenting instances in which rules are broken, and descriptions of any infringements. It is possible to raise objections against the statement within 15 days. This opens the proceedings on objections. A record is not a public document. It is kept in the school and at the relevant inspectorate (depending on the area).

The outputs are always handed over to the head of the school. They are also given to the organising body of the school (in the case of nursery schools - mateřská škola and basic school - základní škola this is a municipality, in the case of upper secondary school - střední škola and tertiary professional school - vyšší odborná škola a regional authority, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports or possibly private or church bodies) and to a school board (školská rada). This applies to the inspection report always, records upon requirement or in case the Inspectorate requires that the organising body ensures the rectification of the identified shortcomings.

Disciplinary actions

The school head and the organising body take measures to follow up the results of the school inspection and inquiries.

Disciplinary actions may be taken in some cases:

Where measures were not taken or completed by the deadline set, within the administrative procedure the Inspectorate can fine the person responsible for adopting or fulfilling these measures

If it is ascertained that the school concerned failed to act, or gross deficiencies are ascertained in school activities, the administrative procedure is launched and consequently after having exhausted all other options the Chief School Inspector may submit a proposal for the removal of the school or the field of education concerned from the School Register to the body maintaining the School Register

The Czech School Inspectorate can submit to the organising body a proposal for dismissal of the school head (anytime during the 6-year term for which the school head is appointed) or possibly propose the announcement of selection procedure to appoint the school head for the next term. In such a case the organising body is obliged to announce the selection procedure, see also the section on requirements for appointment of school head

Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Research

Opinion polls concerning education and the education system may also be seen as a type of evaluation. Such polls are organised by different institutions, e.g., by the Public Opinion Research Centre (Centrum pro výzkum veřejného mínění) of the Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. The project of continual public opinion research, which includes – among others – questions dealing with education and schools in general, has been running since 2002. In September within a regular survey Our Society, the opinions of public on the openness of the education system were examined in the terms of receiving education appropriate to the abilities of each individual, the introducing of tuition fees at higher education institutions and the motivation of people to study at higher education institutions (see web site of The Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences).

Electronic inspection surveys organised by the Czech School Inspectorate

From 2003 to 2010 the Institute for Information on Education organised rapid polling surveys. After closing down the Institute, the electronic inspection surveys are now organised by the Czech School Inspectorate. These are opinion surveys of the heads of a representative sample of schools and school facilities on topical issues of educational policy. The aim was to get a quick reaction and to help the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in decision-making, mapping of the current situation and designing educational policy. For more see the web site of the Czech School Inspectorate.

NIQES – National Inspection Evaluation System for the Educational System of the Czech Republic

Within the Individual National Projects in the Operational Programme Education for Competitiveness, the Czech School Inspectorate presented project "National Inspection Evaluation System for the Educational System of the Czech Republic" (NIQES), which was launched in 2011 and completed in 2014. The main objective of the project was the transformation and modernisation of the National Inspection System of the Czech Republic. The project also included the innovative activities of research and development, pilot testing and support for the subsequent application of the practical activities results of the Czech School Inspectorate.

Four key activities are included in the project:

The development of an integrated system of inspection evaluation of the educational system in order to create a set of new inspection procedures, tools and methods for determining and evaluating the quality of education

The inspection evaluation of school educational programmes in order to provide an evaluation system and create a functional and user-friendly technology platform to support the creation and administration of school educational programmes by teachers

Educational development for integrated inspection evaluation in order to build a comprehensive system of personnel development of the Czech School Inspectorate and consistent further education of school inspectors, teachers and school heads in the area of the new inspection procedures, methods and tools

National survey of pupils’ results in initial education with the aim to build a universal technology platform for electronic verification of the pupils’ results in schools across grades and subjects, in consequence of which it will be possible to provide pupils, parents and schools with effective feedback on the learning process. The Czech School Inspectorate will obtain a tool for the assessment of learning outcomes, the implementation of which is imposed to it by the Education Act

Ad 4) One of the key activities was testing – examining pupils’ results in the grades 5 and 9 of basic school. The project was co-financed from 85 % by the ESF – Operational Programme Education for Competitiveness. Its outputs virtually affect the entire education system, except for the segment of higher education. For a summary of information about this project including questions, comments and most frequently occurring rebukes to nation-wide testing and subsequent reactions of the Czech School Inspectorate to these reservations can be found on the Inspectorate’s or NIQES website.

The first pilot test on a sample of 104 schools took place in December 2011. The first nationwide experimental testing in the Czech language, the mathematics and the English language (grade 5) and the Czech language, the mathematics and English, French or German languages (grade 9) took place from 21 May to 8 June 2012. 3,658 schools (i.e. 99.8 % of all schools for which it was intended) and 161,653 pupils in these schools (i.e. 96.4 % of all registered pupils) participated in the testing. The second experimental nationwide testing took place from 13 May to 7 June 2013. In 2014, the actual nationwide testing of pupils should take place.

No further nationwide testing is planned by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.

Sample survey on pupils’ results in the 4th and 8th grade of basic schools and pupils in the second years of upper secondary vocational schools

In 2004 the Czech School Inspectorate conducted a survey on a sample of nearly 400 schools to verify the results of pupils in the grades 4 and 8 of basic schools and grades 2 of the vocational secondary schools. The survey focused on the learning outcomes in the area People and their World (grades 4 of basic schools), the language literacy – foreign language (grades 8 of basic schools and grades 2 of the vocational secondary schools) and science literacy (grades 8 of basic schools). The three tested areas were accompanied by a brief questionnaire. The Czech School Inspection expects to use this tool intensively for evaluating the quality of education. For more see the section on sample survey.

Non-state evaluation activities

There are also non-state evaluation activities taking place in schools. These are commercial and the schools which decide to undertake such evaluation cover the costs.

Basic schools (základní školy) and upper secondary schools (střední školy) can take part in an evaluation project called Kalibro, which offers them with the possibility of a qualified measure of their educational attainment. The tests cover the following study areas: Czech language, mathematics, social sciences, science, English language and German language. In addition to the students' achievements, the school concerned obtains comprehensive results for classes and the school as a whole (these results are provided only to the relevant school), as well as overall average results for the Czech Republic, individual regions, types of schools or categories of students. They serve the school as a measure for assessing its own achievements. On top of this, the overall results and the students' answers in particular are subject to analysis, which assists teachers in their pedagogical work.

The SCIO project is an evaluation that focuses both on individuals and schools on a commercial basis. It offers so-called national comparative examinations of knowledge at the basic school (základní škola) and upper secondary school (střední škola) levels and comparative tests, practice exercises for entrance examinations to an upper secondary school and a higher education institution (vysoká škola), etc. SCIO tests are used by hundreds of schools of all levels. Some upper secondary schools and higher education institutions take the results into account in admission procedures. A large number of basic schools and upper secondary schools including multi-year secondary general schools (víceletá gymnázia) use the tests to assess educational achievement and find out how to increase the quality.

The OECD Review on Evaluation and Assessment Frameworks for Improving School Outcomes

The OECD Review on Evaluation and Assessment Frameworks for Improving School Outcomes, launched in late 2009. It responded to the strong interest in evaluation and assessment issues evident at national and international levels. 23 countries participated in preparing the report. The countries prepared background reports themselves or the report could be elaborated by a working group from OECD and external experts. In 2012, the OECD report on evaluation and assessment in education in the Czech Republic was released (Review of Evaluation and Assessment in Education – Czech Republic).

On the basis of the OECD report, several recommendations have been set for the Czech Republic:

better formulation of educational goals

creation of the self-contained framework for evaluation and assessment

building of capacities in the area of evaluation and assessment in the whole educational system

creation of educational standards that would cover the whole range of educational goals before creation of national standardised tests

Until 1996, the TIMSS and PIRLS surveys were carried out by the Research Institute of Education. From 1996, most of the international comparison surveys were performed and co-ordinated by the Institution for Information on Education. Since 2012, all the international testing has been coordinated by the Czech School Inspectorate. For more information on the surveys, see the website of the Czech School Inspectorate.

OECD PISA projects

The Czech Republic has joined the OECD project PISA – Programme for International Student Assessment which was launched in 1998 and aims to assess, on a regular basis, the achievements of fifteen-year olds in mathematics, science and reading literacy. The data collection of the first cycle ran in basic schools and upper secondary schools in the Czech Republic in April 2000. Among the OECD countries, Czech pupils were slightly below the average in reading literacy, average in mathematics and slightly above the average in science.

The main phase of the PISA's second cycle took place in spring 2003. The Czech pupils achieved average results in reading literacy and mathematics, and above-average results in science literacy and in the problem solving area.

Three years later, in 2006, the data collection of the third cycle took place. Among the OECD countries, the results of Czech pupils in reading were slightly below average and in science and mathematics slightly above average. In comparison with other countries, the differences between the results of different schools in the Czech Republic repeatedly ranked among the biggest. The differences were especially great between the different types of schools.

In the fourth PISA cycle, focused in particular on the reading literacy, the data collection took place in the spring 2009. Among the OECD countries, the Czech pupils achieved below-average results in reading literacy; the results in mathematics and science were around the average. In comparison with preceding cycles of PISA surveys, the results of the Czech pupils worsened significantly.

Another nationwide PISA testing took place in the spring 2012 and focused on mathematics. Apart from the reading and science literacy, the financial literacy and problem solving area were also tested. The results of the Czech pupils were around the average in mathematics (since 2003, when the results were above the average, the results have markedly worsened) and reading literacy (after a certain decline, the results reached again the level of the year 2000). The results in science literacy were slightly above the average (since 2009 a slight improvement can be seen which is comparable to that in 2006). The results of the Czech pupils were slightly above the average in the area of problem solving and the financial literacy.

IEA Studies

The Czech Republic became member of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in 1991.

In 1995, the IEA RLS (Reading Literacy Study) was repeated in the Czech Republic in the 3rd and 8th grades of basic school (základní škola). The results achieved basically corresponded to the average results in participating countries.

In 2001, the IEA PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) research into the reading literacy of the 4th grades of basic school (základní škola) pupils was carried out, following on the project from 1995. The results of the Czech pupils were in the middle of the spectrum of those countries with above-average results. The Czech Republic did not take part in the next cycle of the PIRLS project in 2006, but participated in the 2011 cycle, which confirmed the above-average results of Czech pupils in this area.

In 1998, the IEA SITES (Second Information Technology in Education Study) research project was launched, which concentrated on the level of information technology equipment at basic schools (základní školy) and upper secondary schools (střední školy) and its use. The Czech Republic also participated in this project. The results provided information on ICT equipment at schools, teacher training in ICT and ICT implementation in education in different countries. SITES Module 2 (M2) was carried out in 2000–2002 focusing on research into modern teaching methods using ICT. It was led by the Faculty of Education of the Charles University. The Czech Republic did not participate in the SITES Module 3 (2005–2007), investigating how and to what extent ICT is being used in teaching and how it contributes to its support and improvement.

In 1999, the IEA CIVIC (Civic Education Study) research was carried out in the Czech Republic. It focused on the civic education in the 8th grade of basic school (základní škola) and the 3rd year of upper secondary school (střední škola). The knowledge of Czech pupils was above average, but their attitudes were surprising – above all their reluctance to take part in public benefit activities. In the international comparison, Czech pupils of the střední škola showed mediocre knowledge and skills in civic education, their concern about political activities was passive, and their confidence in state institutions below the international average. Another cycle of the civic education research ICCS (International Civic and Citizenship Education Study) took place in 2009. The pupils in the 8th grade of the school attendance were tested.

In 1995, the TIMSS (The Third International Mathematics and Science Study) was carried out. It aimed at assessing education in mathematics and science in the population at the ages of nine and thirteen and in pupils in their final year at upper secondary school. Basic school pupils scored among the best in both age groups, and the results of upper secondary school pupils differed significantly depending on the educational programme used: pupils on apprenticeship programmes were among the lowest scorers and as they represented a large proportion of the population tested; this had a negative effect on the overall result.

In 1999, another TIMSS research took place in the 8th year of basic schools (základní školy). It aimed at assessing the development of pupils' knowledge and skills in mathematics and science over a four-year period. The Czech pupils demonstrated very good knowledge in science, although their knowledge in mathematics had worsened compared to 1995. The TIMSS 1999 research included video study research (TIMSS 1999 Videostudy) into teaching methods. The Czech Republic also participated in this.

The TIMSS 2007 preparation started in 2005, the main research taking place in 2007. Mathematics and science achievement of pupils in the fourth and eighth years of basic school (základní škola) were tested. For both years the results of pupils in science were above the average, however, in mathematics they were average for older pupils and below the average for the younger ones. Compared to 1995 and 1999, the knowledge in both tested areas changed for the worse (this being perceptible especially in mathematics).

In 2011, the Czech Republic carried out another TIMSS research in the 4th grades of the basic school. The same pupils as in the PIRLS 2011 research were tested. The pupils confirmed above-average results in science and CR thus ranked among the most successful countries. Although the results in mathematics have improved since 2007, the slump compared to 1995 is still obvious.

In the spring 2013, the main data collection of the ICILS project (International Computer and Information Literacy Study) was carried out in the 8th grades of the basic school (základní škola). The aim was to acquire information on the pupils’ skills in the area of the computer and information literacy. The results of the research were published in 2014. The results of the Czech pupils in the test of computer and information literacy were the best from all the participating countries.